Spider Guard Playbook

Mat Manual companion guide to "Spider Guard: Played Off Your Sleeves." Print it. The article explains the classic gi guard held with both sleeves and both feet on the biceps. This book builds it: grip and foot-placement standards a partner can judge, seesaw control cards before any sweep, sweep progressions in order, transition cards toward the triangle and omoplata doors, retention against the strip and the step-over, and finger care printed as a standard, not a tip.

Name: ______________________________ Dojo: ______________________________ Current belt / grade: ______________ Fingers taped for today's session: ☐ Yes ☐ Not needed today

BEFORE ANYTHING: SCOPE AND SAFETY ☐ Tap early and tap clearly, on the mat, on your partner, or verbally. A tap ends the rep at once. Transition cards in this book stop at the entry to the triangle and omoplata positions; any finish work inside those positions follows those techniques' own safety standards and your coach's direction. ☐ FINGER CARE IS A STANDARD, NOT A TIP. Sleeve grips load your finger joints on every rep. Tape fingers that are sore before the session starts, not after the set that hurts them. Let go of any grip that is being stripped hard rather than holding on while a whole arm argues with your fingers. A lost grip can be re-taken or the guard can change; a finger injury ends your grip training for weeks. ☐ Rotate grip-heavy work. This book runs on at most three sessions a week, and not on back-to-back days in the first block. Finger and forearm fatigue that is still present at the start of a session lowers the day's grip percentages (Part 21) or ends spider work for the day. ☐ If a sweep or transition starts to load a knee or shoulder sideways, either partner stops the rep, unwinds, and resets. ☐ Finger, wrist, elbow, or shoulder pain that is sharp, or still present the next day, ends this work and is reported to your coach. Report fingers that stay swollen or will not fully close the next morning; that report changes your next week's dose.

Part 1: The Guard Card

Read the card before the block. Most spider guard failures are card failures: a grip taken shallow, a foot placed on a forearm instead of the bicep, or a seesaw that stops while the player thinks.